A train of circus elephants dance trunk-to-tail
to form an awe-inspiring sight to the young and to the young
at heart. This is the appeal of Elephant Rocks State Park,
named for a train of gigantic pink granite boulders perched
atop a hill, just like circus elephants! This curious geologic
formation at the heart of the park is called a tor, or a high,
isolated rocky peak which is usually formed of disjointed
and weathered granite. This tor was created nearly 1.5 billion
years ago by molten magma being pushed to the surface. For
millions of years, the magma slowly cooled, forming coarse,
crystalline reddish-pink granite.

When the Ozark plateau was formed during a great uplifting of
the entire area about 250 million years ago, the vertical cracks
(or joints) between the rocks became more pronounced. Time and
weather took its toll, clearing the weakest pieces out of the
joints and laying the immense, oblong blocks of granite bare
to the elements. Slowly, the corners were worn away to give
the boulders their smooth rounded shape, and trees and shrubs
grew in the cracks to help enlarge the joints and wear away
the surface of the rock. Physical and chemical weathering has
also created circular depressions called tinajitas which hold
temporary pools of water and often house tadpoles.

There is no record of the actual number of “elephants”
inhabiting the park. Old ones erode away and new elephants wait
beneath the cracks and joints of the granite hillside. The park’s
pink patriarch, Dumbo, is 27 feet tall, 35 feet long and 17
feet wide, weighing in at a colossal 680 tons!

The
park’s one mile circular interpretive trail was the first
state park trail in Missouri designed for visitors with physical
and visual handicaps. Known as the Braille Trail, signs written
in Braille and regular text, guide visitors along a paved, handicap-accessible
trail which allows visitors to see the huge rocks and seven
acres of the park’s over 131 acres. This acreage has been
designated as a Missouri Natural Area and will be protected
from further development.

Throughout the park, there are several alternate paths available.
Some are handicap-accessible, and others are only for those
not using wheelchairs (or strollers). The first of these spurs
is a granite gravel road that leads to the ruins of the engine
house which repaired the trains that ran to and from the quarries
in the area. The oldest of these (it

opened in 1869) is Missouri’s first recorded commercial
granite quarry. Known as the Graniteville Quarry, it is
just outside the park. These quarries provided architectural granite
for buildings in states from California to Massachusetts. Most
notably, granite from these quarries can be seen in St. Louis.
Facing stone for many of the piers on the Eads Bridge, as well
as millions of paving stones for the levee and downtown streets
came from these red granite quarries. Additionally, many St. Louis
buildings are constructed using Graniteville granite. Even the
turned columns on the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City
contain this granite. Now known commercially as “Missouri
Red”, it is used primarily as building veneer or for monument
stones.

The next spur is also handicap-accessible and leads to a gorgeous
overview of the St. Francois Mountains. Visitors can then follow
the trail to a walking-only path that allows for access to the
top of a granite outcropping where they can explore the giant
stone pachyderms for which the park is named. Returning to the
path, visitors arrive at a fork in the trail. To the right is
the wheelchair path, to the left is the “Fat Man’s
Squeeze,” a narrow gap between two huge granite boulders.
Visitors can “squeeze” through this gap to arrive
at the old, abandoned quarry on the other side, or, of course,
they can remain on the Braille Trail to reach the same destination.
The last deviation from the wheelchair path is the branch that
leads to “The Maze” where visitors have the opportunity
to wander among the 100-foot section of scattered boulders.

Camping is not allowed in the park, but thirty picnic sites and
a playground area provide families with the opportunity to explore
the park. Why not relax and have a picnic lunch among the herd?

Mary Eakins Bullis

Directions: 4.2 miles from 21 and "221"
via 21 North in Graniteville, MO.